| Launch Report Alfa Romeo 166 |
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Swooping through long sweeping curves or dipping through tighter bends, the set-up is excellent, with the minimum of roll from side to side. The gear change is smooth through all six gates and the steering is perfectly weighted. From the driver’s seat and from the passenger’s point of view this really is an exciting car, and listening to Handel as it eats up the open miles is an experience close to bliss.
This top model is also equipped with a Sport Throttle Response option which, when you stab it, is designed to . . . er . . . give you sporting response to the throttle. Now, maybe someone more attuned to these things could feel or hear some difference but I’ll be damned if I could. I tried three or four sprints with the thing engaged and disengaged and I was unable to feel any difference at all. Alfa has no figures to suggest what kind of advantage it gives you, but I can’t see any point in it. The V6 is quick enough without it. So the driving is great, but it’s a different story when you explore the detail. Space and practicality are where the 166 falls down. Open the boot and you’ll find that while it’s deep, it’s not very wide. The back seats don’t fold down either, to extend that space, and apart from a ski-hatch there’s no extra flexibility. I also noticed exposed screws coming down into the boot from the parcel shelf.
The bottom line is clear. The 166 is now a good-looking car with a lot of go in it, but despite having four doors it’s only got the space and practicality of a large coupé. If you can live with the fuel consumption it will be a fine car for two adults with only two children, who don’t take a lot of luggage when they go on holiday. To be honest, though, in comparison with the German competitors it is, by far and away, an also-ran. One other thing to remember is that residual values for the 166 have traditionally been poor, and although the facelift may improve its initial attraction, it takes more than that to turn a car’s fortunes around. |
In the rear seats an average-sized chap like me will find there just isn’t enough head and toe room. More unforgivable, though, is the presence of a centre seat equipped with only a relatively dangerous lap-strap seatbelt. How that omission in this day and age can be justified, particularly after talking about "comprehensive safety equipment", I just don’t understand.
